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Sindhudurg fort stands on a rocky island, known as Kurte, barely
a km, from the Malavan is 510kms south of Mumbai and 130kms north
of Goa. Sindhudurg was built in 1664-67 AD by shivaji when all his
attempts to take the island fort of Janjira proved futile. The
construction was done under the supervision of Hiroji Indulkar, an
able architect. Shivaji had invited 100
Portuguese experts from Goa for the construction of the fort. It
is also recorded that 3000 workers were employed round the clock
for three years to build Sindhudurg. It was the body from the Sack
of Surat that went into the building of Sindhudurg.
One of the best preserved forts of the Marathas, the 48 acre
Sindhudurg fort has a four kms long zigzag line of 9 metres high
and 3 metres wide rampart with 42 bastions. Apart from the huge
stones, the building material involved 2000 khandis (72,576kgs)of
iron erecting the massive curtain wall and bastions. A notable
feature is that the foundation stones were laid down firmly in
molten lead.
The fort is approachable from the Malavan pier by a boat through
a narrow navigable channel
between two smaller islands of Dhontara and Padmagad. The main
gate, flanked by massive bastions, faces the city. On the parapet,
close to the entrance, under two small domes Shivajis palm and
footprint in dry lime are preserved. Also, in thefort there is the
Shivaji temple - the only one of its kind in the country where the
image of Shivaji is without a beard! Inside the fort there are some
temples, tanks and three wells. It also houses some twenty
Hindu-Muslim hereditary families. On a rocky island between
Sindhudurg and the coast stood the small for of Padmagad, now in
ruins. It acted as a screen for Sindhudurg and was also used for
ship-building.
After Shivaji, Sindhudurg passed through the hands of
Rajaram-Tarabai, Angres, Peshwa and the Bhosales of Kolhapur. It
was briefly captured by the British in 1765 Ad And was renamed by
them as Fort Augustus. Later in 1818 AD, the British dismantled the
forts defence structures.
Picture: Sindhudurg from the eastern side; the main gate is
hidden behind the two bastions (above). Outside the southern wall
there is a small beach, called Ramichi Vela in Marathi,
where Tarabai used to enjoy her sea-bath (below)
Sindhudurg (Marathi ) is a fortress which occupies an islet in
the Arabian Sea, just off the coast of Maharashtra in western
India. The fortress lies on the shore of Malvan town
of Sindhudurg District in the Konkan region of Maharashtra,
south of Mumbai.[1]
It is a protected
monument.[2]
Contents
[hide]
1 History
2 Structural details
3 Permanent residents
4 How to reach Sindhudurg
5 Image gallery
6 About the families staying in the fort
7 Attractions at the fort
8 See also
9 References
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[edit]History
This section is empty. You can
help by adding to it. (April 2013)
[edit]Structural details
The Watch Tower facing the sea
Over 4000 mounds of iron were used in the casting and foundation
stones were firmly laid down.
Construction started on 25 November 1664. Built over a period of
three years (166467), the sea
fort is spread over 48 acres (190,000 m2) with a two-mile (3 km)
long rampart, and walls that are
30 feet (9.1 m) high and 12 feet (3.7 m) thick. The massive
walls were designed to serve as a
deterrent to approaching enemies and to the waves and tides of
the Arabian Sea. The main
entrance is concealed in such a way that no one can pinpoint it
from outside.
At a time when Samudra Gaman (travelling by sea) was banned by
scriptures, this construction
on an island represents the revolutionary mindset of its
engineer
[edit]Permanent residents
The number of permanent residents staying in the fort has been
in decline since the fort's
abandonment. Most of the residents moved out because of
inadequate employment
opportunities, but over 15 families remain in the fort. The
Sakpal Naik family (the original
'killedars') still resides in one of the 16 houses in the fort.
However, Dr Sarang Kulkarni's
underwater discoveries have led to the establishment of the
Indian sub-continent's only well-
established scuba-diving industry. This has provided the local
residents with some
employment. Sindhudurg fort is a popular summer destination for
Indian and foreign tourists to
explore the island and go scuba-diving and snorkelling to view
the coral reef on the outskirts of
the island.
[edit]How to reach Sindhudurg
Sindhudurg town lies in the Sindudurg district to the north of
Goa, about 490 km south
of Mumbai (Bombay). Sindhudurg can be reached either by train or
by bus
from Bombay, Goa and Mangalore. The Konkan railway has a railway
station at Sindhudurg, but
only few trains stop there. Kudal, Kanakvali and Sawantwadi are
major railway stations in
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Sindhudurg district. There are Maharashtra state government
(MSRTC) buses running
fromMumbai, Pune, Ratnagiri, Sangli, Kolhapur and Goa state
government buses (Kadamba
Transport Corporation) running from Panaji, Madgaon, Vascoand
Pernem to Sindhudurg. Nearest
airport is Dabholim (Goa) airport, which is located at approx.
90 Km away from Sawantwadi City
(major tourist attraction) of Sindhudurg.
Sindhudurg Fort
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SINDHUDURG FORT
The name of this fort is given to Sindhudurg district.
Tourists from all over the world visit this great sea fort.
Sindhudurg was built with the help of huge rocks on the
Kurte' island, which amazes people, and one appreciates the
vision and foresight of Shivaji.
History: In 1664-67 AD, Shivaji erected this fort on 48 acres
of
island. Shivaji Maharaj personally selected this site, a rocky
island,
Kurte. It took 500 stone splitters and stonebreakers, 200 black
smiths,
3000 laborers and 100s of skilled artists who toiled very hard
to complete this fort in three years. A notable
feature is that the foundation stones were laid down firmly in
molten lead. This is evident from the stone
inscriptions. One of the best preserved forts of the Marathas,
the 48 acre Sindhudurg fort has a four kms
long zigzag line of 9 meters high and 3 meters wide rampart with
42
bastions. SHIVRAJESHWAR TEMPLE
Initially, 3 kms. long outer wall (Tat) was built. Average
height of wall is 10 meters and breadth is 2 to 4 meters.
The design of main door is an enigma. It has been a
hallmark of Maratha Architecture of fort building. It
defies detection of its location to the attacker. The
technique was so deceptive for the enemy that they could
not even realize where the entrance was due to blind
curves. Zigzag pattern of outer wall was so built that the enemy
would be visible from
any point inside the fort and the troops inside could fire their
guns and cannons
effectively and humble the enemy. Cores of hones (gold coins)
form Surat bounty, were
spent to built this wonderful fort.
How to get inside the fort:
The fort is approachable from the Malvan pier by a boat through
a narrow navigable channel between two
smaller islands of Dhontara and Padmagad. There is even a guide
to take you around inside. Fort is
completely cut off during the monsoons.
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What to see:
Shivajis palm and footprints are preserved here on dried lime
slabs in a tower. Inside the Fort, temples of
Bhavanimata, Shambhu Mahadev, Jirimiri, Mahapurush and
Shivajeshwar are worth seeing, all of which are
in good condition.
Shivrajeshwar Temple:
Chatrapati Shivajis younger son Rajaram in his remembrance built
this temple. Shivajis idol stands in a
boatmans attire inside the temple and probably only one of its
kind in the country where the image of
Shivaji is without a beard. Outside the southern wall there is a
small beach, called Ranichi Vela (Queens
private beach), where Queen Tarabai, daughter-in law of Shivaji,
used to enjoy her sea-bath. The fort also
houses some twenty Hindu-Muslim families, who have been living
there for generations. Side the fort there
are three wells of drinkable water, which is a natures marvel as
sea surrounds the fort on all four sides. On
a rocky island between Sindhudurg and the coast stood the small
fort of Padmagad, now in ruins. It acted as
a shield for Sindhudurg and was also used for shipbuilding.
Interesting fact:
To be seen in Malvan is the auction of days fish catch in the
evening between 5 p.m. when all the trawlers return after days
fishing in the deep sea. The catch is then sold to the highest
bidder.
Gallery: Sindhudurg Fort Photo Gallery
Map: Sindhudurg Fort Map
Getting There: By air: Nearest airports are Goa, Mumbai.
By rail: Nearest railhead is Kudal, 45 k.m. on Konkan
Railway.
By road: MumbaiMalvan, 546 k.m. KolhapurMalvan, 160 k.m.
State transport and private buses ply from Mumbai, Pune and
Kolhapur.
Places to see nearby: Tarkarli Beach
Dhamapur Lake
Bharadi Devi Angnewadi
Bhagwati Temple
Jay Ganesh Temple
Bhalachandra Maharaj Ashram
Kunkeshwar Temple and Beach
Bhogve Beach
Nivati Beach
Shiroda Velagar Beach
Amboli Hill Station
Sindhudurg Fort was Chatarpati Shivajis answer to the growing
threat from the
marine forces (Navy) of Portuguese and Siddis. It is said that
the selection of the
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place and the Fort layout was done by Shivaji himself and he
personally supervised
the three years of its construction phase which was completed in
1667. From the
outside view, it looks like a simple Fort, but once inside, one
realises that it is almost
like a mini township spread over 50 acres of land.
The east facing main gate of the Fort is not visible as it is
hidden between two
bastions. It is only after getting down from the boat and
walking towards the wall
that one can see the gate. Inside the fort, there are water
supply wells, residence
quarters, godowns for storing grains, provisions and some
temples. The 40 odd
circular bastions constructed over the 10-15 feet wide outer
wall were the watch
towers which also served a repository of guns and cannons. Most
of the bastions and
other places are in ruins now. At some places, outer wall has
crumbled. The only
places which are still intact are a dozen or so residential
houses, sweet (fresh) water
wells and temples. The thick vegetation inside the Fort is
stated to be partly
responsible for decaying walls and other remaining structures.
We could not see the
famous two branch coconut tree as it was damaged in a lightning
strike few years
back. Refreshments and cold drinks/mineral water are available
at 2-3 places inside
the Fort. It is advisable to use head caps as even in December,
the day time was
very warm.
After finishing our one hour of ramblings inside the Fort, I
felt great about Chatrapati
Shivaji who had farsightedness in constructing such Forts at
various part of
Maharashtra. Shivajis professional approach is evident in one of
his letters to the
Construction Engineer in charge of constructing Sindhudurg Fort.
The instructions
and guidelines were very clear - from the'how' and 'why' of
specifications of
foundation and outer walls, to checking the raw materials and
how to negotiate for
the materials with Englishman traders who, in his view, were
very smart. Finally, his
dictate was that the labourers must be paid their wages daily
without fail.